Bintanne
Deviyo
the Lion King of the Kanda-Uda-Rata

November
26, 2010, 5:13 pm-
Island

By
J. Sarath Edirisinghe

December
6, 2010, marks the 323rd death anniversary of one of the most
outstanding patriots of the Sinhala nation – Rajasimha II of the
Kandyan kingdom. There is no other monarch whose character has been
variously described as that of a despotic tyrant and in the same
breath, as that of a saviour of the Sinhala nation.

A
fearless soldier as a teen, Rajasimha devoted his entire active life to
safeguarding the independence of the Kandyan kingdom and to expel the
interloping Portuguese and the Dutch from the island. To the Sinhala
people he was ‘Bintanne Deviyo’ or ‘Rasin Deviyo’. Even the cinnamon
peelers of the low country, subservient to the Dutch, unhesitatingly
moved in to the Kandyan Kingdom when Rajasimha so commanded, showing
that they still considered him their king.

But
to the Portuguese, Dutch and to some of his English captives, he was a
blood thirsty despot whose hands were eternally stained with the blood
of his enemies and of his innocent subjects. At a time that could be
described as turbulent and desperate, with conspiracies and
assassination plots as everyday events there was also a group of
disgruntled Kandyan aristocrats who relentlessly tried to usurp his
throne. Some of the information that led to label him as a tyrant was
heavily based on Robert Knox’s narration, the English captive, who
never saw or met him and took great pains to avoid meeting the king
even when summoned. Similarly the report of Ambanwela Rala, describing
him as a scoundrel who raped mothers and their young daughters,
submitted to the Dutch, was obviously tailored to please them and to
escape from punishment.

Another
major grouse was that the king failed to hold the traditional ‘Dalada
perahera’. These accusations were sweet music to the Dutch who were
hell bent on deceiving the king by omitting an important clause in the
Dutch translation of the original treaty that was in Portuguese; a
language the king was fluent in. Knox who vouched that he was narrating
events that actually happened erred badly when he stated that Rajasimha
murdered his only son. Knox also states that the King had an incestuous
relationship with his own daughter who subsequently died. Knox had the
decency of correcting himself at a later date when he heard that
Rajasimha’s son, whom he thought was murdered, actually was the king of
Kandy after the King’s death. He heard the real news from Captain
Cornelius Blickeland and William Hubbard, two of his fellow captives,
years after escaping from the Kandyan kingdom.

Both
Knox and Ambanwela Rala had an axe to grind with Rajasimha and are
responsible for the distorted image of this great patriot. The blatant
perpetuation of Rajasimha’s tarnished image continued up to present
times. Even in Knox’s own ‘Historical Relation’ he makes contradictory
remarks that absolve Rajasimha of being an insensitive cruel tyrant.
The king’s religious tolerance, strict codes of conduct among palace
officials, intolerance of sexual misbehaviours and the weeklong
mourning of the death of his favourite sister are a few of these.
Rajasimha also pardoned the surviving 33 Portuguese soldiers after the
infamous Gannoruwa battle. It is also recorded that Ambanwela Rala who
became a prosperous coconut planter in Kollupitiya returned to the king
in later years.

Both
Knox and Ambanvela Rala tried to give the impression that the rebellion
of Nilambe was a national uprising. It is known that when the King,
escaping the rebellion, entered Meda Mahanuwara, the people there were
unaware of a plot against the King. According to Lorna Deveraja, an
authority of the Kandyan kingdom of the period, Rajasimha was not the
unmitigated tyrant that he is depicted by Knox and Ambanvela Rala. The
other indigenous sources, both Sinhala and Pali, refer to the king as a
brave warrior and a venerated monarch. He had great personal charm and
endearing qualities that helped him to win over Europeans who served
him in his army loyally.

She
goes on to say that Jean de Lacombe, a Frenchman in the service of the
VOC, had recorded that several French officers who came in de la
Hayes’s fleet, begged permission to stay in Kandy to serve Rajasimha.
It is known that the King was a vegetarian and according to the Dutch,
never took hasty decisions or was swayed by emotions.

At
the time of his birth the customs of the Kandyan court were almost
purely Portuguese in nature. There were Franciscan friars as well as
captive Portuguese in the palace who were involved in the day to day
running of the palace complex. It was traditional for Kandyan monarchs
to retire to a safe house away from the city whenever they were
threatened by foreigners. In 1612, Kusumasana Devi or Dona Catherina,
widow of Wimaladharmasuriya the 1st who was married to Senerath (1604 –
1635), was in Alut Nuwara – Mahiyangana in Bintanne, when Rajasimha was
born. The location of the birth place of Rajasimha as Alut Nuwara,
Mahiyangana is attested by Knox and is also mentioned in the last book
of Mahavamsa. Kandy was attacked by the Portuguese twice in September
1611 and in March 1612. Kusumasana Devi’s journey to Alut Nuwara and
the birth of Rajasimha are described in Mahawamsa (Chapter 96, Wilhelm
Gieger) as, ‘Senerath fleeing Potuguese after securing the sacred tooth
relic in Dumbara, took movable goods and the sons of the former king
and the admirable Mahesi (Kusumasana Devi) excellent by wealth and
virtue who was pregnant. He took her carefully in a litter and betook
himself to while in this town. The Queen bore him, under a favourable
constellation a splendid son’.

Dutch
Colonial texts and the diary of Spilbergen (1602) who stopped by at
Alut Nuwara – Mahiyangana bear testimony to the grandeur of the
seventeenth century ‘New City’ that had broad streets, trade stalls and
a large palace. In later years, as the King, Rajasimha was their
Bintanne Deviyo.

As
Maha Astana, the heir to the throne, Rajasimha’s childhood was spent in
the palace in the city of Kandy. Ribeiro (1622- 1693) mentions that the
princesses and the princes (Wimaladharmasuriya’s and Senerath’s) were
taught reading and writing of the Latin tongue, Portuguese, music and
horsemanship. The princes were well skilled in these pursuits as well
as in the humanities. He further states that the royal children always
treated the Portuguese as brothers making minute inquiries as to their
customs and adopting those that seemed good to them. It is also known
that the royal children were also taught mathematics, a smattering of
Italian and composing verse. Rajasimha was fluent in the Portuguese
tongue both in speech and writing. Spilbergen left two Dutch musicians,
during his uncle’s reign, in the Kandyan palace from whom Rajasimha’s
step sisters and brothers learnt Western music. His fluency in the
Portuguese language and the familiarity with the manners and customs of
many European people made him quite at ease with foreign ambassadors
and conduct discussions without intermediaries or interpreters.

It
must have been a trying environment for the young children of the royal
courts growing up in the Buddhist faith while everything around them
looked and sounded Portuguese. One can only feel the tension and the
dilemma faced by the young Rajasimha whose mother was clinging to the
Catholic faith and spoke Portuguese while his father, the rightful
custodian of the tooth relic, was a Buddhist monk before coming to the
Kandyan throne. By this time Kusumasana Devi’s eldest son by
Wimaladharmasuriya was dead under mysterious circumstances. It is
possible that young Rajasimha heard the rumours implicating his father.
The tragic death of his mother while he was a still a baby and the
influence of Prince of Uva (Kuruwita Rala) and Marcelis Boschower
(Senerath’s confidante), would have drawn the young prince to the
intrigues of statecraft at a tender age.

Senarath,
eager to make way for Maha Astana (young Rajasimha) to ascend the
Kandyan throne, established the principalities of Uva and Matale for
his nephews Kumarasinghe and Vijepala (Maha Astana’s half brothers). As
a young prince he was fearless and possessed the same determination as
his father and uncle to annihilate the Portuguese. He emulated his
namesake Rajasimha I of Sitavaka, who was happy and contended only when
he was in the battlefield. Although his reign as Rajasimha II is
generally accepted to have begun in 1635, Senerath is known to have
devolved the powers of the state to Maha Astana around 1629.

As
a young prince of eighteen, and being groomed to take the Kandyan
throne, Rajasimha took part in the battle of Randeniwela. The Kandyan
forces received a huge boost when large numbers of the Portuguese army
under Don Cosmo defected and fought with the King’s army. During this
battle the notorious Portuguese Captain General Constantino de Saa met
his match and yielded to his creator. The battle of Randeniwela will be
engraved in golden letters in the history of this island’s struggle
against foreign usurpers. It was also the beginning of the end of
Portuguese power in the island. The last battle the Portuguese fought
in the island which was also the last battle the Kandyans fought, was
one at Gannoruwa. The heroic Sinhala forces led by Rajasimha and
Vijepala, the prince of Matale, decimated the Portuguese army including
the Captain General Diogo de Mello close to the present court complex
on the William Gopallawa Mawatha, in Gatambe. Thousands died in the
battle with only 33 survivors. The tender nature of the King’s
character is highlighted by his granting life to these 30 prisoners.
That was also the last battle in the history of this island where a
king himself led the troops.

The
king who was resident in Nilambe before the rebellion, for health
reasons retired to Hanguranketa, leaving the Mahesi, a Madura princess
and his sister in the palace in Kandy. The whereabouts of the crown
prince was kept a secret and as Knox indicated, was believed to have
died soon after the Nilambe rebellion. The palace complex in
Hanguranketa was extensive with a protective clay wall around it.
Exquisite design and decorations are described by Knox. There were
pavilions to watch games, horse shows and elephant games. The
artificial lake had ornamental fish that the king used to watch and
feed. The hobbies and diversions he entertained during his youth were
maintained despite unsettled conditions of the kingdom. His zoo was
replete with black leopards, white deer, spotted elephants, ducks,
geese, and a number of priced stallions. He was an excellent rider and
used to appear on horseback during peace time. As he grew older he
amused himself by watching his priced stallions being groomed. He had a
collection of guns richly inlaid with gold and silver. His personal
attendants and palace officials were youths of high birth, Portuguese,
Dutch and Englishmen, Moors as well as Kaffirs, the latter being guards
of his bed chamber.

His
upbringing in an atmosphere of religious harmony made him tolerant to
all religions. Knowing the close relationships that the feuding
aristocrats had with the Buddhist clergy, he was careful not to meddle
too much in temple affairs. However, there was a thriving Buddhist
college of Bhikkhus that included his uncle to oversee these affairs in
Hanguranketa. Towards the latter part of his life the Dutch treated the
king with respect as recommended by Van Goens. This was mainly to get
the detained prisoners released. Successive embassies bringing gifts in
the form of curious animals failed to receive an audience with the king.

The
year before the great king’s demise, the Dutch company offered to
surrender some the possessions taken from the Sinhalese. The salt
levayas of the south and some korales were among them. Pyl, in a
personal letter to the king, admitted it was wrong for the Hollanders
to retain Colombo. He indicated that the whole island belonged to the
King and they were there merely to defend the island on the King’s
behalf. In fact Pyl called himself the ‘King’s faithful and humble
Governor’ and called Colombo as the ’King’s imperial and invincible
castle’.

The
Dutch believed that the aging King had no successor and thought it was
safer to be on good terms with him. They also believed that the King
was addicted to opium or alcohol. But Rajasimha in spite of his age and
failing health maintained his dignity and self respect to the last
.According to P.E.Pieris, the King remained clear- headed to the end.
He summoned the Council of his Ministers at Hanguranketa and led a
gentle-faced young man whom he introduced to the bewildered audience as
Prince Maha Astana, his son. The prince was believed to have been
murdered by the King himself after the Nilambe rebellion, an event
rumoured to have been publicized by the King. It said that the
Ministers believed the ailing King only when the mighty Bintanne Deviyo
prostrated at the feet of the young prince swearing allegiance.

How
the Dutch received the news of the King’s death and the memorial
celebrations are vividly described in ‘Ceylon and the Hollanders’
(PE.Pieris). "..A memorial celebration followed on the 23rd (December
1687) with all the funeral pomp so dear to the heart of the Teuton.
Long lines of Lascarins, companies of soldiers, and sailors with arms
reversed and trailing pikes, each preceded by a field-piece dragged by
slaves, and the Governors guard in armour, went in front of the
trumpets and kettledrums which were on horseback. The great standard of
the King, smaller standards, his personal banner, led horses covered
with black velvet, gilt spurs, gauntlets, dagger, helmet, coat of mail,
etc. came next.

They
were succeeded by a coach drawn by six led horses, all hung with the
king’s device of the Red Lion on a gold ground, the horse of State,
herald in armour, the Sword of Sovereignty, the crown and the sceptre;
these last were carried on cushions by noblemen, guarded by halberdiers
and accompanied by lighted flambeaux. Next came the governor, his train
of six ells in length borne by a page, with the Sinhalese ambassador by
his side. The Political Council, the ministers, the Council of Justice
and other officials followed, with the Burghers and domestics bringing
up the rear. The long procession wended its way to the church, where
the insignia remained on a table till evening, when they were removed,
under three volleys of musketry and a royal salute from all the guns in
the city and the fort, back to the governor’s house with same marks of
distinction. After this demonstration of respect to the memory of the
King, whose death filled them with relief the weary officers were
regaled with spirits and wine, and allowed to return to their homes.

According
to Pieris, Rajasimha was cremated in the Adahana Maluwa. A dagoba was
constructed where his ashes were interred. This and the other
structures were looted and destroyed by the British when the Matale
railway line was built. It is not clear whether the actual cremation
took place in Hanguranketa or at the Asgiriya Adahana Maluwa. There is
recorded evidence to state that a monument in memory of Rajasimha II
was in existence in the Asgiriya Adahana Maluwa in the early part of
the twentieth century and it was looted and vandalized by the British
involved in the building of the Matale railway line. It has also been
reported that the cremation took place in Hanguranketa and the site
with a monument depicting a reclining lion was vandalized in recent
times in the name of development.

December
6, 2010, marks the 323rd death anniversary of this great patriot whose
life was dedicated to expel the foreign usurpers from the island home
of the Sinhalese. There is no other King in the long history of this
island whose personality and character have been so blatantly damaged
and discredited as those of Rajasimha’s. When history is re-written
some day, may he be exonerated and reinstated among the great patriots
of this land.